Friday, December 2, 2016

Tiny Neighbors

This post should be named "My Crazy Thanksgiving Day" or "How I Got A Tiny House in My Yard".  So, I'm a member of a Facebook group for Tiny House enthusiasts.  There is another group for people looking for places to park their Tiny Houses and people willing to let them park.  I've been lurking on that group and if someone mentions Arizona or Tucson, my ears perk up (or my eyes since I'm reading it?).  Some people were looking for parking on the west coast.  I didn't take much notice because I didn't think I could compete with what others could offer.  They came back a month later and posted their plea again.  Still, they were looking in multiple states and my property doesn't have water so I didn't offer.  Another month later, they came back with a more desperate plea for Arizona, Utah, New Mexico.  I sent them a message about my property but said they would have to haul water in.  We friended each other on Facebook so we could send instant messages but then weeks went by and I assumed they found a place. 

The day before Thanksgiving, I suddenly get an IM from them.  They were asking more questions about water and electric.  We went back and forth and it seemed like it wouldn't work because they need a place now and I would need to purchase and set up a water tank and pump.  Finally, I asked if they would like to come down from where they were in Phoenix and take a look for themselves.  They could park temporarily in my side yard at my house in town.  We started talking about parking space needed - the house is 13.5 ft tall so I would have to cut the lowest branch of the pine tree.  Water would be easy with my garden hose.  Electric was more complicated because my house only has one outside outlet and it was only 15amps, they needed 20amps and a double outlet not single.  Thanksgiving morning I was dragging an extension cord and lamp around and flipping circuit breakers to find an available 20amp outlet.  I did find one in the bathroom which used to be a laundry room but it only had a single outlet.  Finally, I asked it they could plug one of their giant extension cords in to the 15amp outlet and the other into the 20amp.  Yes, that would work.  By the way, I think having the tiny house powered by two cords is genius.  It gives them a lot more options for getting power.  They also can plug in to a 30amp RV outlet if that is available.

I asked them what was wrong with their current parking space and they said the property that they were on had a well and the pump kept breaking down.  They had to haul their water by bucket.  They were eager to get to a spot with reliable water and electric so they headed down and in 4 hours, they arrived.  After some back and forth, squeezing the tiny house in to the side yard, and some switching of the vehicles to make sure everyone could get out and in without hitting each other, they were settled for the night.

The door is on the other side next to the oleander hedge but they don't mind because it makes the entrance more private.
Meanwhile, I was running around, pruning shrubs, raking pine needles, chopping off a tree branch, while simultaneously trying to watch movies with my nephew and make Thanksgiving dinner.  Whew.  It was a long day.

If you want to see better pictures, go to this article.  The builders talk about building the house and there is a video tour. Yes, this is the actual house.

What do I get out of this? $300 for one month rent plus utilities. They have the option to stay longer if the neighbors don't complain. I doubt they will want to move the day after Christmas but if something better comes along they can tow their tiny house away. That's one of the benefits of a tiny living.

12 comments:

Lizzie@her MFW Homeworld said...

So cute!
I dont understand the electricity bit )do sockets have different power?) but all good stuff for you :)

Hawaii Planner said...

Super interesting! Please keep us posted on how things are going with your neighbors. :-)

Daizy said...

Yep, circuit breakers have different power available for the outlets connected. Typically it is 15amp. Because that bathroom used to be the laundry room, it has a 20amp outlet. Then there are the special outlets for the stove and dryer which are 30amp. I keep forgetting this stuff and having to relearn it.

Daizy said...

So far they are very quiet and I barely notice them except for the fact that there is a tiny house which is taller than my roof tucked in my side yard
:)

Dave said...

When you wrote "Tiny Neighbors" I imagined a bunch of midgets moving in!

Interesting arrangement you have there. Careful when playing with electricity, we don't want to read any stories about "Fried Daizies!"

Anonymous said...

It looks a little bigger than I imagined, when parked next to you house. I do like the fact that the bedroom is not in a loft. The lofts always turned me off of tiny houses. I just will never want to climb ladders

Daizy said...

Lol! I purposefully write obscure titles for posts because I don't want anyone from my work to find my blog. I have more electricity stories to follow. No fried Daizies, thankfully.

Daizy said...

My 1970's house is short with an almost flat roof. New houses would be a lot taller with their cathedral ceiling and fancy pitched roofs. There is certainly no hiding that tiny house next to mine. I like the bed on the lower level too. That's what I will have in my barn-shed building. I can't trust myself with ladders and the dogs would be quite unhappy if they were left down below.

Kim said...

Ditto to no lofts after age 18. I don't want to be crawling up a ladder in the middle of the night. Listen to the video at minute 6:00. Does the guy says he's 7'4"? No way!

Anonymous said...

he did say 7'4" but he did not look freakishly tall.

Daizy said...

Lol, he doesn't look that tall but the house is tall inside so it's hard to tell.

No place for guests to sit except on the bed but that's what a patio is for, in good weather, anyway.

Daizy said...

I'm going to have to go stand next to the round door. He is about as tall as the top band so I want to see how far up that is.